vessel by surprise, but he understood now that there was a strong
probability that the Belle Marie might have caught a tartar and have
suddenly run herself under the guns of a British frigate. As soon as
the vessel had passed, the braces were manned and the yards swung
round, and the brig continued her course. She was brought up almost to
the wind's-eye and sailed as closely as possible, so that when morning
broke she should have recovered the leeway she had made and should be
to windward of the vessel she was pursuing, no matter how much astern.

CHAPTER IV.

THE PRIVATEER'S RENDEZVOUS.

When morning broke the vessel that the privateer had been watching in
the night was seen to be three miles directly ahead. She was a large
vessel, and for some time opinions differed as to whether she was a
frigate or an Indiaman; but when it became quite light a patch or two
in the canvas showed that she could not be a man-of-war, and all sail
was at once crowded on to the privateer. The other ship at once shook
out more canvas, but half an hour sufficed to show that the privateer
was much the faster vessel. The stranger took in the extra canvas she
had set, and continued her course as if altogether regardless of the
privateer.

"They have made up their minds to fight," Jacques said to Ralph. "Now
he finds that he can't outsail us he has got on to easy working
canvas. She is a big ship, and I expect carries heavier metal than we
do. It may be that she has troops on board."

The brig kept eating out to windward until she gained a position about
a mile upon the starboard quarter of the Indiaman, then the long
pivot-gun was leveled and the first shot fired. The crew had by this
time all taken their places by the guns, and Ralph and the other boys
brought up powder and shot from the magazine. It was not without a
struggle that Ralph brought himself to do this; but he saw that a
refusal would probably cost him his life, and as some one else would
bring up the cartridges in his place his refusal would not benefit his
countrymen.

He had just come on deck when the gun was fired, and saw the water
thrown up just under the ship's stern, and the shot was dancing away
to leeward. The next shot struck the merchantman on the quarter. A
moment later the vessel was brought up into the wind and a broadside
of eight guns fired. Two of them struck the hull of the privateer,
another wounded the mainmast, while the rest cut holes through